For Better Or For Worse
by DownInTheDirt
Summary: After three years of dating the infamous Andromeda Black, Ted Tonks asks her to marry him. But will Andromeda choose love over blood? Ted's POV. Rated M - Sexual content and language. You have been warned. I appreciate reviews!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note - I am borrowing from JK Rowling. I thought of this fan fiction idea randomly and I just HAD to write it. I hope you enjoy it. **

**--**

Dromeda was late; she was never late. I paced the worn carpet of my living room floor, the fire crackling loudly and the flames leaving a dim glow throughout the small room. I was sure that Dromeda had her reasons for being late; she would have told me if she couldn't make it. Perhaps that was why I was feeling so anxious; she was over an hour late and I hadn't heard a single word.

My thoughts immediately turned towards Dromeda's family. They called her Andy. She wasn't Andy to me, she was Dromeda. Andy and Dromeda were two completely seperate and different people; Andy was the perfect, pure blood daughter. Andy was the one who would see right through me when accompanied by her Slytherin friends or her sisters. Only to mouth a 'sorry' to me when they weren't looking. Dromeda was my love, my reason for living. She was _beautiful, _with long, silky, chocolate brown hair; her shiny brown eyes that matched her hair colour; her pale, flawless skin that forever glowed in any kind of light; her soft features made her resemblance to her sister, Bellatrix, much less noticeable. Her features would have been overlooked by men that went for women for their looks only; but to me she was perfect. Dromeda was mine, Andy was theirs. And my Dromeda was torn between me; a muggle born and so far out of her league that I'm surprised, even now, that she chose me over a dozen pure blood men, and her pure blood family that treated her more like a show dog than a daughter.

I never understood why Dromeda was so eager to please all of those pure blood snobs that she had the misfortune to be related to. If I was related to people like them, I would have wanted out as soon as possible. But Dromeda and I were different, in so many ways that the idea of us as a couple seems almost unreal, she was a Slytherin, I was a Hufflepuff; not the most likely pairing, is it? And I knew that if Dromeda's family ever found out about us, we'd both be severely punished. The chance of them accepting me was the same as an ice cubes chance in hell, meaning, impossible.

My life was so much simpler before I met Dromeda; I didn't have the constant worry that she would leave me, telling me that she couldn't pretend anymore, that she couldn't lie. On nights that I laid alone in bed, wondering whether she was giving me a seconds thought when she was off being the perfect daughter; I resented her, hated her, even. I would tell myself that she wasn't worth all of this heartache, when I could find someone that wasn't pretending to be two people at once; but those feelings would disappear instantly when I saw Dromeda the next day; when I saw her warm, beautiful smile when we would be by the lake at Hogwarts; or in Hogsmeade; or when we would meet in the second floor broom cupboard that we had claimed as 'our place'.

I pulled back the curtain; hope filled my heart when I saw a girl with dark hair walk past the window; only for it to be a muggle college student, who was around the same age as Dromeda. Annoyed, I roughly pulled the curtain closed and sat on the sofa, burying my face in my hands. I didn't even care _why_ she was late anymore; I just wanted to take her into my arms and hold her.

It was a further twenty five minutes of dread and pacing before the fire when I finally heard the sound of knuckles upon wood as there was a sharp knock at the door. I resisted the incredible urge to run to the door and wrench it open straight away; I waited for several moments; no second knock came, but I knew that she was waiting. I couldn't stand the silence any longer; I had to see her. I stood up and checked myself in the wall mounted mirror before walking to the front door and pulling it open.

There she stood, but I knew without delay that something was wrong. She stood on my doorstep in a long, violet dress, her hair tied up into a long ponytail, held in place by very expensive looking amethyst hair slides. The whole effect looked lovely, but there was no smile on Dromeda's face; she just stood in silence, staring blankly at me. I stepped aside to let her in; she strode into the small hallway and closed the front door behind her. I didn't know what else to do, so I did the only thing that felt natural; I took her into my arms and held her, she buried her face into my shoulder; I could feel her shaking, she was evidently trying to maintain control. I brushed the hair away from her shoulders and kissed her neck tenderly, whispering soothing sounds into her ear. I steered her into the kitchen and sat her down on one of the rickety chairs. She still remained silent. With a sigh I filled the kettle and waited for it to boil, wanting nothing more than for her to talk to me.


	2. Chapter 2

The coffee I was drinking burned my tongue; I always forgot to blow on it before I drank, but right now that was the least of my worries. I watched Dromeda apprehensively, she had touched none of her own coffee and she refused to look at me. I was expecting the worst, I couldn't help but feel that I was about to hear words that I had always prayed to God would never escape my Dromeda's lips.

"We have to end it." Bang. My world came crashing down as soon as she uttered that blunt sentence; she had let her family win; they had finally defeated her, I wanted to storm from the house and destroy every single one of them. But I didn't, I did nothing but wait for her to continue; she didn't.

"So that's it…" I said finally, watching her stare at me intently. "After three years, three years of lying to your family, sneaking around…" I paused, I couldn't believe what I was going to say next…"You made me believe that you loved me." The look of hurt and guilt on Dromeda's face made me regret what I had said instantly; I didn't want to hurt her, but she was hurting me more than I could have assumed.

"Ted, you know I love you. Do you really think that I would lie about something like that?"

"I don't know." I said bitterly. "You seem to have no problem lying to anyone else, your family, for instance. Why should I be any different?"

"I lied for you, Ted. For _us. _I lied to them because I love you. But things are different now; things have changed and there is nothing either of us can do about it."

"How are things different? Did they find out about us? Did Narcissa or Bellatrix spot us and go running to your parents? Or have you finally realised that I'm a _mudblood_…" I saw Dromeda shudder slightly. "…not good enough for the infamous Andromeda Black? Realised that you could do better, have you? Well in case you haven't noticed, _Andy, _your parents have been telling you things like that about muggle borns for years." I turned away, I had no idea where all of this anger was coming from, it frightened me, I had never felt like this before, especially not towards her. But my heart was breaking; those five words that she said to me were like five daggers in my heart.

"Don't call yourself that. Ted…don't you think that if I didn't think you good enough for me…I would have left long before now?"

"Then why are you leaving now?"

"My parents…" What a guess.

"See! It _is _because of them!"

"Ted, will you _please _let me finish?" She looked close to tears, but I ignored it, I looked hard into her eyes as if to say 'go on then'.

"My parents have arranged for me to marry Antonin Dolohov…"

"What!?" I heard myself spluttering. "That brainless git!? You can't be serious!"

"I am. We are getting married next summer…I am to wear a pink dress and we are getting married in the Dolohov's manor house as it is where all male members of their family are to get married."

Dromeda's voice became shakier with every word she spoke, it was clear that she didn't want this. One; she told me that she hated summer weddings; two; she hated pink and three; she hated Dolohov above all others. It was becoming more real to Dromeda as she told me about it, but it would never become real to me. I felt helpless as I watched the only person that mattered to me break down in tears before me. My anger at her had vanished and was replaced with nothing more than the desperate need to help her, to get her out of this mess. I strode over to her and held her while she cried, never before had I seen her lose control like that, I felt feeble as I stroked her hair and wiped the tears from her face with my thumb. In that case I felt useless, if I couldn't comfort her, what use was I to her?

"Why do you let them do this to you, Dromeda?" I whispered into her ear as she finally began to calm down.

"I have no choice," She whispered back. "They have control over me; I am not allowed to make my own decisions." She sniffed and held onto me tightly. Fuck them. I thought to myself. I'm wasn't going to let them ruin her life for their own ridiculous beliefs.

"Why don't you just run away? Leave them and live your life how you choose."

"They're my family. My parents, my sisters, they love me."

"Love you!?" I found myself laughing coldly. "Come on, Dromeda, do you honestly think that they're constantly upsetting you because they _love _you!?"

"They want what is best for me." She said quietly, pulling away, her beautiful brown eyes still shining with tears.

"No, Andromeda. They want what's best for them, not for you."

For once in my life I knew that everything I was saying was right. I suspected that Dromeda knew too; she just wouldn't admit it. That was her problem; Dromeda and her oh-so-stubborn streak stopped her from ever admitting that she was wrong.

A sudden idea occurred to me, it was genius! And there was absolutely no downside, I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it earlier…

"Marry me, Andromeda Black." Dromeda looked taken aback, to be honest, I had surprised myself there, that had to be the world's most random proposal. But I loved her, she loved me, there was no reason _not _to get married. Except the small problem with Andromeda's family…

"You know I can't, Ted; they'll never speak to me again."

"And that's bad because…?" I smirked slightly; I couldn't help it; the thought of her being with me and only me was wonderful, I wouldn't have to share her; I longed for that with every fibre of my being.

"You don't understand. I love them. But I also love you. I can't choose between you!" She cried, almost hysterically.

"I love you more than they ever will, Dromeda and you know that." I kissed her softly on the lips, half expecting for her to pull away, but she responded, and fiercely.

I chuckled as she started fumbling with the buttons on my shirt. I started undoing her dress, I could feel her breath on my face, my breath caught in my throat as she pushed me up against the wall and kissed me passionately. I saw a completely different side to Dromeda as I led her upstairs to my bedroom; underneath all of that impassiveness, she was vulnerable, delicate. I took her hair from it's elegant pony tail gently so her long hair fell wildly down her back.

As we stripped each other bare I could feel the heat radiating off her, I could feel her on me, breathless, longing to be touched, by someone she loved, and I felt like the luckiest man alive to be that person. As we kissed, our breath mingling and as we made love; I knew that this was the woman I would always want.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun shining brightly through my bedroom window woke me early the next morning. All was silent except for the gentle breathing of the woman lying fast asleep in my arms. I smiled as I stroked the hair away from her face and watched her sleep. I kissed her neck softly, she didn't stir, she was in her own world, she was with me. I loved waking with her beside me, I loved having her with me, hell with it, I loved everything about her. In my eyes, Andy became non existent for a night; last night confirmed that I would do anything to have her as my own, to see her smile, to hold her close; if that meant cursing Dolohov into oblivion, I would do it.

People amaze me; some people can be like the British weather, so changeable. A smirk appeared on my face as I remembered how Dromeda _used _to be. I remembered my first encounter with her as though it had happened days ago; we were in our second year, we had been sat together in Potions. Not by choice. I remembered the first words that she had ever said to me: "Go to hell, mudblood." She was a true Black then; cruel, stuck up and thought that she was the superior one. It's hard to believe that three years later we began dating, and three years after that I would be proposing marriage and making love to her. But I suppose fate worked like that, but our fate was certainly different – ours was forbidden fate.

I heard Dromeda groan slightly as she started to wake up. A smile touched my lips as I stroked her spine. The room was warm due to the sun and we only had a sheet covering us. I wanted this to be us every morning; I wanted it more than anything else in the world. I felt a grin stretch across my face as she looked up into my eyes.

"Good morning, you." I said, placing a kiss on top of her head. She responded with a sleepy smile as she snuggled closer to my chest. We laid there in silence for a few minutes.

"I meant what I said last night…" I said finally. "I love you more than your so called family ever will." Dromeda said nothing, merely shifted vaguely in my arms. She spoke after many long seconds.

"I'm scared, Ted. If things don't work out between us I will have no family to go back to. They will never accept you and I'll be alone."

"Who says that things won't work? We argue ninety nine percent of the time anyway so we don't have that to worry about. You'll never find _anyone _that loves you more than I do." That was one hundred percent true. "I may not have much money, and I may be a mudblood…"

"Ted…" I ignored her interruption.

"But I'm crazy about you, Andromeda." I lifted her chin so she was looking at me; my blue eyes met her brown ones and I knew that she was considering. "At least think about marrying me?" She sat up in bed, holding the sheet close to her chest; I propped myself up onto one elbow, waiting.

"You are impossible. You know that?" She said finally, her face remaining expressionless.

"Not impossible…" I replied, grinning. "Just very unlikely. So, is that a yes?"

"No, it's a maybe." My heart sank like a stone, how could she turn me down after a speech like that?

"I'm not turning you down." That's another thing about Dromeda; she could read my mind. "I just need to think."

"Fine," I sighed. "Just remember, for better or for worse, I'm here for you. I can wait for you forever." She kissed my lips delicately, her fingers entwined in my hair.

"I know."

--

At half past eleven, we had gotten dressed and had breakfast. I kissed Dromeda goodbye so she could go back to being the perfect daughter, go back to being Andy. I didn't hear from her for a week after that. I tried to distract myself with my work. But it didn't fill the gaping hole in my heart that Dromeda had left behind.

But one week later I found a note attached to the leg of an owl that I immediately recognised as Andromeda's. I ignored the continuous pecks as I pulled the note free, I recognised Dromeda's handwriting at once. Her small, neat writing took up less than half of the parchment it was written on.

"_Ted._

_For better or for worse, right?_

_I told my parents this morning. I told them that I wanted to marry you and that there was nothing they could do about it. Their reactions didn't come as a surprise to me. They told me that I was a disgrace to the family and that they never wanted to see my face again. Bellatrix and Narcissa found out before long; Bella looked like she was about to murder me. They managed to hex me, but I'm alright, just a few cuts and bruises. I did that for you, so if you've backed out, Ted Tonks, I will never forgive you."_

I laughed in spite of myself, I certainly hadn't backed out, I told her I would wait, and a week is nothing compared to what it could have been.

"_I am coming over at half past two. I have nowhere else to go now. But first I am going to pay a little visit to Dolohov; I want to tell him that he isn't getting married anymore before my __parent's do; just to see the look on his face. _

_I am just glad that you talked sense into me before I truly messed up my life. _

_I will see you soon._

_Your Andromeda."_

Dromeda arrived at exactly half past two; she had no reason to be late anymore. She was a lot worse than I had expected, she had bruises all over her arms and several cuts on her face, it looked like her sisters had done more than hexed her. She explained that Dolohov was responsible for most of it, but the look on his face when she told him she wasn't marrying him was worth it all, and for the first time in weeks; I saw a true smile on my Dromeda's face.

I just didn't know what to say, I never knew that I would be so grateful for all that Dromeda had given up for me. But I did the only thing that I thought justified my feelings, and I embraced Dromeda; breathing her in, never wanting to let her go as long as I lived.

--

Fin.

--

**Author's Note - Please review and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


End file.
